Can the "Chui Wan" movement, which has been popular since the Song Dynasty, become popular?, The Fair for Trade in Services hosts the "Chinese version of Golf" competition

Blue and white cloth bags are filled with various curved wooden poles, and bright yellow flags indicate the direction of the holes. With a crisp sound of swinging and hitting the ball, the wooden ball entered the hole. On September 2, 2023, at the sports service themed venue of the Shougang Park of the China International Trade in Services Fair, a Chinese version of golf, known as the "Chinese version of golf," was being held.

Dan Huaxiang, founder of Contemporary Chuiman Institute and chairman of Shanghai Chuiman Information Technology Co., Ltd., told reporters that participating in the 2023 Service Trade Fair is the first time that Contemporary Chuiman Institute has come to Beijing to carry out Chuiman culture promotion activities, and has played the first role in Beijing Chuiman.

Chinese Golf

Chuiman, an ancient sport known as "Chinese version of golf," evolved from the polo sport of the Tang Dynasty. Due to the intense nature of the sport of polo, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people, enthusiasts of this sport have invented "footplay", which involves running and swinging a cane to hit the ball.

In the mid to late Tang Dynasty, the players were creative and dug several caves on the ground. They divided into two teams to play and took turns swinging their sticks to push Maruki into the caves. During this period, the sport of pounding balls gradually matured, with many similarities to Western golf in terms of bat shape, playing field, game rules, and even the spirit of club members.

During the Song, Jin, and Yuan dynasties, the activity of pounding pills was extremely prosperous. From the emperor and ministers to the common people, most men, women, and children enjoy it tirelessly. In the "Continuation of Yi Jian Zhi" by Yuan Haowen, a Jin dynasty scholar, there is a record that "one day during a cold meal, the elder will act as a friend and strike the pill in the gap in the west of the garden.".

In the Yuan Dynasty, there was also a specialized "Maru Jing" that recorded the practice of pounding pills. It was mentioned that "even Emperor Huizong of Song and Emperor Zhangzong of Jin loved pounding pills, using decorative bags, striking colored sticks, grinding jade to adorn the top, and decorating the edges of gold". It even "sought the advice of ancient people to refine them and enhance their essence.". In the collection of Du Jin's "Illustrated Scroll of Maidens" from the Ming Dynasty in the Shanghai Museum, there are also scenes of maids "pounding pills".

The Shanghai Museum has a collection of Ming Dynasty Du Jin's "Illustrated Scrolls of Maidens", including materials and images

Golf is widely recognized as originating in Scotland in the 15th century, developed by local shepherds using their goalposts to hit rocks on rugged hillside pastures. Compared to the time when the Chinese masters of pounding balls, Song Huizong and Jin Zhangzong, wielded inlaid gold and jade to play colored golf, golf was more than 300 years later.

To play with friends

"I fell in love with the sport of pounding pills for the first time," Hua Xiang told reporters. In her opinion, Chuiman not only pursues speed, height, and strength, but also seeks to cultivate a healthy heart and make friends with the ball.

But Huaxiang was at the Service Trade Fair

According to records, in ancient times, when hitting a ball, people emphasized the importance of "having a pleasant breeze, being full, having no hindrance to the heart, selecting good friends in groups of three, three, five, or five, and hitting them in the clear and victorious areas of the garden in accordance with the law.". Playing ball in such a comfortable environment naturally "harmonizes with blood, nourishes temperament, cleanses worries, and reduces diet..."

Therefore, chui wan was an elegant movement of ancient gentlemen and ladies. The process of hitting the ball strengthens the body and nourishes the mind, reflecting the unique spiritual pursuit of ancient Chinese people.

The quality of the ball reflects one's character, and the pounding ball also embodies the ancient people's interest in high art, serving the masses, and not striving for small profits. It is a social way of socializing with club members. The Maru Jing even provides special advice: "A gentleman and a petty person have different struggles and friends. In the struggle of a gentleman, one's skills are superior to those of others; in the struggle of a petty person, one is cunning and seeks profit. Therefore, when meeting friends, one must treat them as gentlemen and keep them far away from others... When beating maru to meet friends, one should not be careless."

Revitalize with new vitality

Through thousands of years, the ancient sport of pounding pills is being promoted and revitalized through people's tireless efforts.

At the performance competition, the reporter saw several volunteers dressed in Hanfu from the Contemporary Chuiman Academy demonstrating their skills in pounding pills. The enthusiastic children, after simple teaching, waved their clubs in a lively manner. Underneath the stage, many passing spectators couldn't help but stop and appreciate the charm of Kumaru.

Event site

During the 2023 Service Trade Fair, Contemporary Chuiman Academy organized nearly 10 indoor and outdoor Chuiman experience activities, taught Chuiman ball skills, and taught about the continuous inheritance of Chinese culture behind Chuiman.

It is reported that in the past 20 years, Contemporary Chuiman Academy has carried out cultural exchange activities between Chinese and foreign Chuiman and golf in more than 40 countries and regions around the world, providing Chuiman themed golf cultural services. In March of this year, Contemporary Chuiman Academy held the "Welcoming Hangzhou Asian Games National Treasure Chuiman Song Yun Feng" event at the golf event venue of the Hangzhou Asian Games and the West Lake International Golf and Country Club, and held indoor Chuiman formation matches and green grass Song Yun Chuiman matches. The unique sports experience makes many participants linger and forget to leave.

Having a "traffic password"

Can the traditional Chinese pounding ball movement, which has been popular since the Song Dynasty, be revived today?

According to observations by reporters, the current Chuiman movement is still in the early stages of promotion to the public, lacking commercially operated clubs or training institutions, and has not formed a relatively fixed consumer group. In promotional activities, even if participants of the chuiwan sport are very interested in it and hope to participate in it for a long time, it is difficult to find a dedicated venue for operating the chuiwan sport in the future.

However, the development potential of this sport cannot be ignored. Although the public knows very little about the sport of pounding the ball, golf, which is similar to it, has a broad public base in China. According to a report, as of the end of 2022, there were approximately 975000 golfers in China. Many chuiwan enthusiasts told reporters that they had a foundation in golf before switching to chuiwan. Due to the similar skills and rules, it is very easy to get started with pounding pills.

In addition, the strong social attribute of "meeting friends with a ball" and the traditional Chinese cultural heritage it contains have been the "traffic password" of social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu since ancient times. Once "lucky" is favored by traffic, like frisbee sports, overnight popularity is unknown. The threshold for the venue, personnel, and equipment of the Chuiman sport is not high, and a small investment can open an experience store or club. With the support of traffic at that time, it can be expected that a "small and beautiful" sports industry will emerge.

Although the Chuiwan movement is still in its infancy, perhaps it only lacks an opportunity to reach the masses.